Montana State Honors Former Throws Coach, Hosts Carignan Classic on Friday

Friday, February 6

Bozeman, Mont.

2 p.m.

Montana State University

Carignan Classic

Photo by: Bobcat Creative Services

Montana State Honors Former Throws Coach, Hosts Carignan Classic on Friday

2/5/2026 11:35:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Schedule

Mike Carignan coached the Bobcats for 35 years

By: Pershelle Rohrer

BOZEMAN, Mont. --- The Montana State track & field program is set to host the first-ever Carignan Classic at the Kennedy-Stark Athletic Center on Friday, honoring the longtime throws coach who coached at Montana State for 35 years before retiring in 2017.

The one-day meet is set to begin at 2 p.m., with Sabine Brueck and Hailey Ells kicking off the day for Montana State in the women's long jump. The Cats will open competition on the track with the men's 60-meter hurdles prelims featuring Ethan Anderson and Preston Wysocki at 2:30 p.m. This weekend's meet will mark the fourth of seven meets for the Bobcats during the indoor regular season, including the third of four held in Bozeman.

Live results from the Carignan Classic will be available here. The meet will not be live streamed.

About Mike Carignan: Carignan compiled 35 total years of coaching experience at Montana State, beginning his tenure as an assistant track & field coach in 1977 under Bobcat Hall of Famer Rob Stark. He returned to the program as a volunteer assistant from 1989-90, also serving as a part-time coach from 1990-1994 before becoming a full-time throws coach in 1995, a role that he held until his retirement in 2017. During his time with the Bobcats, Carignan coached his student-athletes to 170 All-Big Sky honors, four All-America honors, 57 Big Sky Conference titles, and 16 individual appearances at the NCAA Championships. One of those athletes is current Bobcat throws coach and 2018 Bobcat Hall of Fame inductee Jennifer Allen, who won eight all-conference honors and four Big Sky titles while competing for the Cats from 2000-04. Carignan is still active in the Montana State track & field community as a board member of the Bobcat Track & Field Association, which raises funds for the MSU track & field and cross country programs and keeps fans connected to the program through events and newsletters.

Track It Forward: Nonperishable food and essential item donations will be collected during the meet as part of Track It Forward, an initiative spearheaded by Bobcat senior Xavier Simpson to serve the Bozeman community. New, unused, and unopened items collected at this weekend's meet will be donated to the Gallatin County Food Bank, and items can be dropped off in the labeled donation box near the entrance of the KSAC. More information can be found on the Track It Forward Instagram at @track.it.forward.

The Competition: Montana State will host 11 other programs in the Carignan Classic on Friday. Other teams joining the Bobcats at the KSAC this weekend include Carroll College, Dawson Community College, Montana, Montana State-Billings, Montana State-Northern, Montana Tech, Montana Western, the University of Providence, Rocky Mountain College, Utah State, and Westminster University.

Bobcat Competitors: A total of 48 Bobcats are expected to compete at the Carignan Classic on Friday, including 26 women and 22 men. The women's entries include Emma Brensdal, Sydney Brewster, Sabine Brueck, Stella Diaz, Hailey Ells, Samantha Geraets, Libby Hansen, Maggie Hillis, Annie Kaul, Eva Koos, Jenavieve Lynch, Sydney Mattfeldt, Sophia Miller, Kalei Moravitz, Ada Nelson, Hannah Perrin, Brooke Reuter, Tatum Richards, Ave Roberts, Iris Rogel, Claire Rutherford, Madi Siana, Kaitlyn Skinner, Jadyn VanDyken, Jaeden Wolff, and Jada Zorn.

For the men, Ethan Anderson, Noah Barbery, Eli Boppart, Billy Cunningham, Sam Ells, Matt Furdyk, Will Giesen, Ryan Harrington, Easton Hatleberg, Talon Holmquist, Jordan Lasher, Chase McGee, Rob McManus, Quinn Newman, Mario Oblad, Ben Parks, AJ Ringert, Ben Saelens, Malikye Simpson, Blaise Snow, Stryder Todd-Fields, and Preston Wysocki are expected to compete for the Cats.

Last Time Out: The Bobcats competed at the ICCU Dome in Pocatello, Idaho, for the first time this season last Friday at the Stacy Dragila Invite. Brewster broke her own school shot put record for the third time this season with a mark of 16.81 meters/55 feet, 2 inches to highlight the Bobcats' day in Pocatello. That mark would earn her Big Sky Women's Field Athlete of the Week honors, the fifth weekly conference honor for Montana State this season. Brewster's performance was one of nine improvements to the program's all-time top-10 list at the Idaho State-hosted meet as 10 Bobcats won 12 events at the ICCU Dome.

Up Next: Following Friday's meet, Montana State have just three regular-season meets remaining across two weekends ahead of the Big Sky Indoor Championships. The Bobcats will split squads between the Don Kirby Elite Invitational and the Husky Classic (Feb. 13-14) before hosting the Big Sky Tuner (Feb. 19) to wrap up the regular season. Montana State will then return to Pocatello for the Big Sky Indoor Championships (Feb. 26-28). The Bobcats will wrap up indoor competition at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., on March 13-14.

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For the latest news, updates, and behind-the-scenes coverage of the Montana State track & field program, follow the Bobcats on Twitter and Instagram at @MSUBobcatsTFXC. Information on the Montana State athletic program can be found online at msubobcats.com or by following the Bobcats on Twitter at @MSUBobcats, Instagram at @MontanaStateBobcats, and on Facebook at Montana State Bobcats.